Name: Zora
See Zora in action: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLyC1mtnbsebYoe-b2_lK6J3UFXF6BcHBY
Location: Michigan City, IN
Contact Info: Brianne / brianne@michianapets.org
Rehoming fee or adoption fee: Sponsored
Sex: Female
Weight: About 70 pounds
Spayed/Neutered: Yes
Age: 2 ½ years
Good with Men: Yes, but slow intros needed, is okay after being fed treats
Good with Women: Yes
Good with Dogs: Very selective. Needs no small dogs/female dogs. Has done okay on walks with very tolerant, non-reactive larger male dogs. Would need a slow introduction by an experienced owner and able to separate. Comes on very strong and doesn’t always pick up social cues from other dogs. Ideally best as the only pet.
Good with Cats: No.
Children: Great with older kids; not sure about younger kids.
House Trained: It took her a few weeks in her adoptive home to get the hang of it after being in the shelter for 7 months, but she did eventually do okay.
Crate Trained: Unknown
Medical Issues: We did bloodwork and found out she had a B12 deficiency so we have her on a very specific food as well as injections. She still seems to be doing pretty well at the shelter now but we do still have her on a specific food as she seems to have allergies
Immunizations:
Rabies: Due January 2024
Parvo/distemper: Due June 2023
Bordatella: Due January 2024
Heartworm test: January 2023 – negative
Intake: January 6, 2022.
Adopted: July 23, 2022.
Returned: September 25, 2022.
Transferred/2nd adoption: December 28, 2022.
Returned: January 9, 2023.
Characteristics: Zora has been our BEST field trip dog. Meaning, the public comes in to take a dog out into the community and she has been the most amazing dog to take out. Even beginners take her and she does phenomenally. And same for around children about 9ish and up, she has been just wonderful. Zora is on the timid and submissive side and not aggressive.
She has had a bite incident with her first adopter. The wife took her out to get the mail with her and they stopped to say hi to their neighbor. He was carrying boxes and the wife’s husband, who is usually with her, was not with her and Zora bit the neighbor in the leg. We are unsure if it was protective or what caused her to react. She was transferred to a rescue and then adopted out for a 2nd time. About a month after being adopted, Zora got loose and went after a small dog that was being walked. The lady walking the dog picked it up and Zora bit her in the chaos of it. The dog was not hurt. The owner did seek medical care but no stitches were necessary. Now, Zora is rescue-only. We feel that in the right home — an experienced owner, no pets, preferably a fenced-in yard — she will succeed. She has been able to walk on leash next to very friendly male dogs but it would need to be a very slow introduction with options to separate with a very experienced foster.
We believe Zora will be wonderful with someone who knows her breed and can help her succeed. We have had ZERO incidents with her at the shelter in almost 10 months, with male and female staff and volunteers. We had a prison program come evaluate her for their program and they said she is too submissive and not confident enough. So, she really needs an owner who can lead her. She did not challenge them and retreated instead of being aggressive.